


Do You Mind Riding Bitch?

by anonymousloris



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Adventure, Biker Byulyi, Dystopia, F/F, Humor, Mild Smut, of course, side wheesa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 08:48:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17179769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousloris/pseuds/anonymousloris
Summary: Now, most people in this situation would have stayed back and observed a bit before throwing themselves into something. A pretty girl in a wreckage site could be in need of help, sure, but in the world between settlements, where a drop of rain could spell a person's death, it was best not to trust anything.However, Byulyi had two things working against that:1. She is not most people2. She is known to make poor decisions when it comes to pretty girls





	Do You Mind Riding Bitch?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tide_ms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tide_ms/gifts).



> To the prompter, I know you said the rain and ruined buildings thing was totally not necessary so of course I built my entire fic around it. I hope you like this!

There was a time before all this.

When a child singing "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day" might have been cute and endearing. Now not so much. It sounds more like a prayer now; a desperate plea to have a clear sky for just one more day.

Some of the more radical people of the world might theorize all the times that song was sung before the rain got bad was what brought about this apocalypse. Children get shushed in some settlements. Lied to as well.

Byulyi really hated settlements.

She looked up at the sky and sighed. "That's ... not what I wanted to see, bud."

The sky had nothing to say on the matter. It simply continued to exist in the atmosphere, the clouds lazily rolling across gray-green hues. The air felt cold. But not enough to drastically change her plans. As if the sky cared about her agenda.

"No sense wasting time." She muttered to herself. (Something she did a lot lately)

With that in mind, she swung her leg off the motorbike and hit the crunchy undergrowth of the hillside with her boots. What a predictable aesthetic. Leather and denim under long light hair and a shiny motorcycle to match. Though none of her friends would ever stroke her ego by calling that death-trap "shiny."

She took two steps, then three, walking out across the hillside and to a little patch of trees. All mangled branches and sporting no single leaf on them. But there was something captivating about how barren it looked. How there were hundreds of trunks, but she could look right across the landscape around them.

Her camera, clutched carefully in her fingers, rose from her side. She popped the little cover off the lens and brought it to her eye, framing in thirds and watching the wind sway the half-dead trees to the side.

She snapped a photo.

Then one more. Just in case.

And when she pulled it back to look at the image that flashed on the dirt-smudged screen, she noticed something odd.

"Smoke," She said, again totally to herself as there wasn't a soul around to hear her narrate.

Her eyes flashed up from the screen and across the prickly tree tops until the found the billow. It wasn't humungous or particularly thick. Perhaps that's why she missed it on the first glance, but it was certainly there. Wisping up into the sky and creating mystery and intrigue as it went.

The sky still didn't seem to care very much.

But Byulyi did.

She snapped the cover back on her camera and tossed it around her neck. The old leather strap dug into the notch on her neck it'd made for itself, but she didn't bother adjusting anything.

In a movie-esque fashion, she hopped onto the motorcycle and kicked the stand up, revving only twice before speeding away down the hillside. The bike wasn't exactly built for an off-roading experience, but after years of modifications and tweaks and replacements, Byulyi's kind of _made_ it for off-roading. As much as she can at least.

So she takes down the hillside and into the half-dead forest full of half-dead trees. Graveyard full of zombies, if you will. She headed straight towards the smoke, not even questioning why she would do something like that. Maybe curiosity ran her circuitry these days. Maybe she just ignored common sense altogether.

Her friends would say the latter is more likely.

It took a little navigation, skillfully zooming through the trees and over obstacles until she came out the other side, having to halt when a small ledge impeded her progress by bike. It wasn't a steep drop, but enough that she didn't want to send herself over it needlessly. However, it sloped down to wherever the smoke was coming from, so she didn't need to get much further anyways.

She kicked the stand down again and hopped off of it once more.

Something propelled her to take her camera up again, still slung around her neck just in case, but prepped to take photos still. She raised it up to her eye as she approached the ledge and watched the scene below unravel through the viewfinder.

Wreckage. Metal, pipes, tires, pieces of a car or maybe more than one since the smoke coming from one body obscured part of her vision. There wasn't anything currently on fire, but she didn't want to chance closing in on it until she was sure nothing would implode soon. An oddly familiar marking on a door panel.

She took a picture, actually.

When she reeled back to look at it, she saw something.

"What?" She looked up, seeing a figure pacing back and forth in the grass just to the left of where she'd been looking.

A girl.

A really, really, really pretty girl.

Now, most people in this situation would have stayed back and observed a bit before throwing themselves into something. A pretty girl in a wreckage site could be in need of help, sure, but in the world between settlements, where a drop of rain could spell a person's death, it was best not to trust anything.

However, Byulyi had two things working against that:

1\. She is not most people  
2\. She is known to make poor decisions when it comes to pretty girls

So she tossed herself over the ledge and dug her boots into the side of the slope, carefully skirting down into the area and approaching this mysterious woman. For the record, she didn't get any less pretty as Byulyi approached, and the probable chance Byulyi would take any caution went down with each step.

"Hey ..." She greeted, for once not speaking to herself.

The girl stopped, freezing up and snapping to look at Byulyi.

She looked scared.

"I'm not -" Byulyi put her hands up. "I'm not armed."

The girl blinked, but her shoulders relaxed. Her mouth pressed together, something on her tongue, but no passage for that sentence to get out into the world. So Byulyi took a few more steps in until they were at a distance for conversation.

The girl spoke then. "You're not here to hurt me, are you?"

Byulyi smiled. "How much damage you think I could do with a camera?"

"I don't know." The girl huffed, putting a hand in her hair. "I'm having a little bit of a bad day, so excuse me if I'm not into strange biker chicks approaching me in the middle of nowhere."

"Yikes." Byulyi put her hands down and took the camera in them. "Bad day might be an understatement, princess."

The girl flashed a look when Byulyi tacked that nickname onto the end of the sentence.

"Hey, hey, no need for snake eyes." Byulyi tapped the camera with her fingernails. "Looks like you're out a ride and the rain's gonna start in a few hours. You should be looking at me like a savior."

"Like I need a smart ass photographer to get me to the next settlement." The pretty girl rolled her eyes.

Oh, Byulyi liked her a lot.

"This smartass photographer knows three places within 30 minutes that'll keep you safe from the rain." She paused. "But, you know, if you wanna hang out here for a taxi to come then -"

"Stop." The girl held out a hand. "Okay. Yongsun."

Byulyi furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

She dropped her hand and sighed. "That's my name. Yongsun. I figured you'd like to know who you're saddling yourself with."

Her look of confusion melted into another Byulyi grin. "Nice name. I'm Byulyi."

"Great. Byulyi - Yongsun. Great. Where's your car?"

Yongsun watched as Byulyi chuckled a little bit. It was so hard not to.

"How do you feel about riding bitch?"

* * *

They didn't talk much once Byulyi started driving. It's a bit difficult to talk when navigating the fastest route to a safe place on an unenclosed vehicle.

But Yongsun squeezed her waist _tightly_. And Byulyi hadn't had someone else on her bike in so long. It felt really nice.

In the ride between the wreckage and the ruins Byulyi felt were most appropriate for her route, she theorized a bit about the girl leaning on her shoulder. People don't travel between settlements often. Unless they absolutely have to. Almost everybody finds a place and settles in. Unless they have family in another area or something.

There's the exception for people who have to do these things. Couriers and such. But those sorts of people wear uniforms and take flat straight paths from point A to point B. Byulyi found Yongsun on a road far less traveled.

As she cruised closer to the riverside ruins, she figured maybe there was something more to this. She could have been running away from something. She didn't seem to love casual touches and insisted on boarding the bike without help. Maybe some highway bandits got to her and dropped her off hoping she'd die in the rain so they wouldn't have to dirty their hands killing her themselves.

Byulyi grit her teeth. She hated this whole world sometimes.

But the building, or what most people would have once called a building, came up quickly in her field of view and she careened off the path, making her way out to the little set of ruins by the stream. She'd discovered it approximately five months ago and grew quite ... fond.

The bike came to a stop under an enclosure and parked with ease.

If the bike were sentient, which thankfully it wasn't, it might have been happy to stay under such a thick overhang. While Byulyi had things to protect it from the rain, it much preferred to stay as far away from open sky as possible.

The sky, still, didn't care.

"Where is this?" Yongsun asked as they dismounted, effectively rattling Byulyi out of her thoughts.

"Oh, just a nice little rest plaza I like to hit when I take the 45." She looked up at Yongsun. "They have a nice snack selection."

"Well." Yongsun rolled her eyes. "I see why you travel alone."

"Ouch, that hurts." Byulyi frowned, propping her helmet on the bike and motioning to Yongsun. "Come on, I don't have all day, princess."

"Jesus Christ ..." Yongsun muttered, following Byulyi begrudgingly.

They entered the ruins to see a positively make-shift lodging. There was an ancient TV propped up against a wall with an even more ancient DVD player running High School Musical 3 for the thousandth time in its lifespan. There were tattered couches, legless tables, and beaten in boxes next crates and lamps. A single solar-powered generator hummed in the dryest corner next to an off-white refrigerator and a bookshelf sans books.

Unsurprisingly, there was a woman inside, milling about until the two new people popped in. Along with a myriad of cats sleeping in various places or padding around.

"Byulyi." The girl grinned, a bit of an accent on her words. "Nice of you to show up once in a while."

"Long time no see." Byulyi reached behind her, taking Yongsun by the wrist and tugging her forward as the woman approached. "I brought a straggler."

"Oh," The woman stopped a few feet short of them, giving Yongsun a once-over. "Looks a bit kept up for a straggler."

Yongsun took that moment to yank her wrist away from Byulyi. She dusted her hand off on her jean-clad thigh as if she had contracted cooties from the three second exposure to Byulyi's skin.

“I shower frequently … thank you very much.” Yongsun huffed.

Byulyi rolled her eyes. “Wow, how nice. Showering.”

“Hey, Byul, be nice.” The woman smacked her on the wrist suddenly, but quickly offered the attacking hand to Yongsun. “Kyulkyung. It’s nice to meet you. If you need help keeping Byulyi in line ...”

Yongsun smiled, taking her hand and shaking it. Byulyi tried to act like the sky and pretend she didn’t care. But it was fairly apparent that she did.

“Alright, alright.” Byulyi crossed her arms, the camera’s strap tugging at the back of her neck. “I’m assuming you don’t mind me and Showers here crashing for a bit?”

Kyulkyung nodded, letting go of Yongsun’s hand. It was always interesting to see how much Kyulkyung loved people despite essentially isolating herself from the largest populations of them.

“Misery loves company, right?” Kyulkyung kept her eyes on Yongsun.

It was an intimidating stare to say the least. Something in the back of Byulyi’s mind felt weird. Like this was all some sort of fever dream and she’ll wake up in the Mootel wondering what her name was in about ten minutes. But when she pinched her own bicep it felt pretty real. 

“You wouldn’t happen to have dinner cooking?” Byulyi cracked a hopeful smile.

Kyulkyung rolled her eyes. “Lucky I like you, Byulyi.”

* * *

"So this is what you do?" Yongsun asked, soft and inquiring. "Sleep in ruined buildings?"

Byulyi tossed her bag down onto the bed. If one could consider a double stack of mattresses lying on the ground to be a bed, that is. It had the function of a bed, just not the luxury of one. But the ample amount of blankets and the sounds soon to come made it a pleasant place to rest.

"Sometimes." Byulyi chuckled, glancing over to Yongsun who seemed to be staring at the only cat in the room. "Never seen a cat before?"

"Of course I have." The look Yongsun sent her way was quite matter-of-fact. "Just never ... up close."

 

Oh. It was easy to let slip in her mind how things were in other places and ways of life. Byulyi was so used to encountering different things that she never quite got used to any one set of circumstances. It was how life was meant to be taken. With an open mind. Except it closed her off from the viewpoint of somebody who might not have had as much a chance to be open-minded as her.

"They don't bite ..." Byulyi found herself laughing again. "Okay, some do. But not Kyulkyung's. They're just happy to have a safe place to be."

Yongsun crouched down, gaining the curiosity of the cornered feline quite suddenly. It was black all over but had two different colored eyes. It stuck out against the cold gray of the worn cement walls behind it, and when it perked up from its sitting position, seemed so lively and real.

Byulyi stood behind her for a moment, watching the cat approach and feeling like she was maybe experiencing a child at the zoo for the first time. Albeit a very feisty and self-determined child, but still an awe-inspired being nonetheless.

The cat strutted up to Yongsun and she looked up at Byulyi out of the corner of her eye. So, Byulyi squatted down next to her and gently nudged the other woman with a shoulder.

"Don't be a wuss, it's just a cat." Byulyi reached out and stroked its head, gaining instantaneous affection back from the feline.

"It just looks so real." Yongsun admired.

"It is ..." Byulyi trailed off, rubbing the cat once more before looking to Yongsun. "You've lived in a settlement your whole life then?"

The question stuck to Yongsun like a dart to a rubber board. Not quite a deep perfect stick, but a loose grab, dangling it loosely at an angle.

"Yeah." Yongsun murmured.

She reached out for the cat then and was unexpectedly met half-way by a headbutt from the little guy. A noise of surprise popped out of her, but she didn't jump back. It took a moment of frozeness from her, but after it wore off, she pressed on. She pet it like it was a diamond or something absolutely priceless.

"Yeah?" Byulyi couldn't keep herself from watching the girl's face. Her features were so precious and emotive.

Yongsun nodded, petting down its back. "I see why people liked these."

"Liked?" Byulyi fell back into a sit, propping herself up with palms planted on the cold floor behind her. "Kyulkyung willingly gave up living with people in safety because she likes these things so much."

Yongsun had taken two hands to the cat, petting it as it rubbed against her knees. "Really?"

"Even places without any ruling can't keep them around because of inspections and whatever the fuck ..." Byulyi glanced to the window, the tree bodies stretching to one side a bit with the wind. "So she takes care of them here. And people like me that need a place to sleep at night."

"No accounting for taste."

Byulyi reacted with a kick to Yongsun's side, sending her toppling over with a squeal. It was enough to startle the cat. It scurried off through the doorway and down the hall to meet its friends where people didn't kick each other.

"Hey -" Yongsun immediately got back up, rounding back to push the photographer as well, but stopping short.

Byulyi raised her eyebrows. "What are you? A mannequin?"

But as soon as the banter left her mouth, Byulyi knew what distraction had snatched Yongsun's attention away from her. It was the soft pitter patter of rain.

She shifted, turning over her shoulder to look out the window and see raindrops splashing against the glass. It came down in a dribble, but ramped up in no time as clouds passed overhead, terribly burdened by all that moisture and ready to let it go as if there was any actual stress to carrying around water all day.

It created a mist that rose up from the ground, an opacity thickening the air they looked out onto. It made a bit of a green haze and dimmed their world a few notches. Like lights down before a movie began. And the surround sound of sheets of tempered rain hitting the roof above them added to the ambience.

"That seems so ..." Yongsun whispered.

"Innocent?" Byulyi rolled back to look at her companion.

If it was possible, she was even softer looking as she stared out the window. The rain-splattered window cast a strange line of light across her face. The gay panic inside Byulyi made bets and wagers against her better judgment.

See, as an established lesbian and heart-driven wanderer of the world, Moon Byulyi entrusted her feelings and her immediate perception a bit ... too much. While she had the intellect and calm disposition of a person more ... sane and calculative, when it came to certain things, she struggled to operate effectively.

See: Pretty Girls.

"Calming ..." Yongsun, established pretty girl, corrected.

Byulyi also struggled with little things like expressing herself and vulnerability.

See also: Bullying Pretty Girls.

"Until it melts your skin off, sure," Byulyi responded.

"You always kill the moment?" Yongsun wrinkled her nose up. It was cute.

Byulyi responded with a shrug.

And that was the gist of their conversation. They got changed for bed. It seemed the girl didn't have much in terms of clothing left after her accident, so Byulyi gave her something to sleep in, though it ended up a touch baggy on her. It was also a touch cute.

It didn't take much discussion to agree to sharing the bed. They were big mattresses covered in blankets and pillows collected from all over. It wasn't a big deal, and a small price to pay for warmth since the sun sapped what little heating there was when it ghosted them for the evening.

"Here -" Byulyi reached over to help when Yongsun got stuck in the wad of blankets, but Yongsun yanked her arm away.

"I'm fine," Yongsun assured her hastily.

"You're cold," Byulyi said.

Didn't seem to change how Yongsun felt. She curled up into herself on the other side and let the sounds of rain mask the fact that she was shaking the tiniest bit. Whichever underground settlement she came from must have been well insulated considering just how mild this was for a chilly evening.

Byulyi only watched for a couple of moments before rolling her eyes. "You've got to get over this touching thing."

She reached out and took Yongsun by the waist, yanking her through layers of covers until they were pressed up against each other.

"Byul-" Yongsun let out a squeak of surprise, only twisting for a moment against Byulyi's restraints "Oh my god, you're -"

"Sorry." Byulyi pulled tighter, trapping the squirming worm of person against her. "Can't hear over how ridiculous you're being."

Yongsun went limp, groaning against the covers. "You're so fucking annoying."

"Yeah, but I'm warm and annoying." Byulyi loosened up her grip so she could huddle in against Yongsun.

It felt really nice laying next to a person. Heat trapped between them and around them under the blankets was so much better than assuming fetal position in a cocoon of fabric until she finally lost consciousness.

The previously unwilling victim sighed. "You win, okay?"

"Finally." Byulyi smiled, putting her head against Yongsun's back.

Despite the admission of defeat, it took a few minutes for Yongsun to relax. Her shoulders dropped after a while and Byulyi tried her best not to notice when her arm ended up stacked on top of Byulyi's across her stomach. Her skin still felt cold, but she wasn't shaking like an idiot anymore. Again, it was really nice.

So nice in fact that Byulyi began to drift off into sleepyland. Her senses dulled and her mouth fell open. All the worries about this hitchhiker and the rain became disjointed and droopy until her brain cells gave up completely.

Then Yongsun rustled her out of her thoughts.

"I lived underground." She stated.

Byulyi blinked, her sleepy state egging her on. "Hmm, ah. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Yongsun echoed. "My whole life. Fake sunlight. No cats."

"Mhmm ..." Byulyi hummed. She shifted up into Yongsun more. "Sounds boring. That why you left?"

A moment of silence. Filled with a dark, dark room and the sound of lethal rain gently rapping on the window sill.

"No. I don't know." Yongsun answered. "I can't remember the crash."

"S'okay." Byulyi meant it sincerely. "Don't worry. Get some sleep."

Yongsun nodded though her back was to Byulyi.

"Yeah. Thanks."

* * *

The morning came, it brought a dull white light. Enough to wake up the girl next to Byulyi, but not enough to rouse the surface sweller from her restful state completely. It wasn't until Yongsun started moving that Byulyi's dreams melted to reality and her eyes blinked open.

"Stop moving." Byulyi groused, reaching out to smack Yongsun sleepily.

They hadn't moved much in their sleep, but they were laying an inch apart now instead of pressed into each other.

"We have to get up." Yongsun chided, pausing half out of the bed and looking to Byulyi.

"No ..." Byulyi whined, reaching out into nothingness. "Why? Come on."

Yongsun rolled her eyes, obviously unaffected by the puppy dog technique Byulyi mustered up when she was half-awake. "We have to get to a settlement, remember?"

"I'm not a dumbass." Byulyi let her arm fall to the mattress and pouted. "But the rains go for whole days sometimes. We've got ... at least a few more hours."

"Is this your pitch to get me to stay as your personal body heater?" Yongsun raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me."

Byulyi actually opened her eyes and pulled a grumpy expression. "I promise it's gonna keep raining. You're the only person I've ever met to turn down staying in bed all morning. Don't be a square."

"God, you are -" Yongsun let out another exasperated sigh, but the smile on her face was a pretty clear sign that she was amused.

Hook, line, and sinker. Sink-her, if you will.

Byulyi opened and closed her fist a few times, a grabby hand that was near-irresistible.

"Okay, alright." Yongsun slipped back into the covers and next to Byulyi, facing her this time with false annoyance. "But if that rain stops in twenty minutes, you're in serious trouble."

With a laugh, Byulyi pushed her over and cuddled up next to her side, taking no time to replace to warmth she'd lost above the covers. "Go ahead. Nag me to death."

"I will."

"I bet."

* * *

For the record, the rain lasted a few more hours. Two or three, but not long. At some point Yongsun fell asleep, but Byulyi struggled to get back into the sleepy headspace. It wasn't uncommon since she rarely wasted dry hours and therefore spent far longer conscious than she probably ought to. It still wasn't optimal.

It left her wondering again about Yongsun.

She'd met people from underground settlements before, but they don't usually want to go back. Leaving one of those is a fairly permanent decision for most since they're so hard to access anyways.

So why would this girl want to get to another settlement so soon?

Where was she from anyways?

As they headed out the door, Kyulkyung gave them both a hug. She snuck Byulyi some sandwiches and whispered in her ear something about it being a bribe to get Nayoung to stop by. Byulyi definitely grinned knowing it wouldn't be hard to convince her to do that if she happened across her again.

And then they left. Stepped outside to see a soggy, but not dangerously wet landscape. A little dampness was no hard obstacle so long as puddles weren't present.

"You still dead set on getting to the nearest settlement?" Byulyi asked, grabbing her helmet off the bike.

"Duh, I'm -" Yongsun winced when Byulyi slapped it on her head and reached along her chin to buckle it. "What are you doing?"

 

"I only have one helmet, Yong -" Buylyi smacked her hand away. "Stop. I've been riding this bike for years, I'll be fine."

Yongsun grumbled, tugging at the strap once Byulyi buckled it. "As long as we get where we're going."

"Of course." Byulyi turned back to the bike and threw a leg over it, kicking the stand up and tossing a look at Yongsun in typical cool guy fashion. "We might make a stop or two. Heads up."

Another round of grumbling complaints came from the girl. Though Byulyi thought, properly even, that Yongsun should be thanking her for doing this in the first place instead. But she still made it onto the back of the bike, arms locking around Byulyi's core and head settling against her back.

Byulyi rode with the tiniest bit of a smile.

* * *

"You're a lunatic." Yongsun accused, falling to the ground dramatically.

Byulyi rolled her eyes, snapping another picture of the lake.

It was misting from the rain, clouds of steam wafting off the top of it's barely rocking surface. It was fucking gorgeous with a ruined farm town sitting on the hill behind it for a backdrop. Stunning. Artistic.

"I'm a photographer," Byulyi responded.

"But do you have to take pictures of _everything_?" Yongsun bemoaned.

The sight of her camera shifted with her. Focusing on the moping girl in the grass. The wind tossed her long hair over her shoulder. Byulyi spun the focus to blur the world beyond her and snapped a photo.

“Just pretty stuff …” Byulyi said so quietly it was almost for herself. She snapped another photo. “You sure you wanna go back to those corrupt think tanks? You’re a half decent model.”

Yongsun glared. “Compared to how this place looks maybe.”

“Nah,” Byulyi dropped her camera. “You’re gorgeous. Too bad you come with an attitude.”

The glare intensified. “Are we done here?”

Byulyi cocked her head and smiled. “Sure thing, princess.”

* * *

“This is the last stop, I swear.” Byulyi made her best puppy dog eyes, pleading Yongsun to give her one last shot. She always misses this quarry when she goes this way because of rain and it’s been nothing but clear skies today. “It’s really pretty.”

“You said that …” Yongsun swallowed it. “Okay. Alright.”

Now, it’s important to understand a few things about this particular world these two live in.

For one, Yongsun hasn’t seen the real world’s landscape in person in like … ever.

For another. Byulyi never quite loses that spark of child-like fascination with it.

They both experience awe where most might experience a sad wave of frustration. A hopelessness looking out at the shell of what was once a thriving planet. This planet is referred to as dead by many. Specifically, those seeking to keep people inside the settlements. People Byulyi hated. People Yongsun probably believed.

But despite two worldviews about as similar as metal and country music, they both let out little gasps when they reach the edge of the overlook.

The quarry glints in the sunlight. Flashy metals spinning color rays of refracted light out and revealing cracked and dusted glossy rocks.

“What … What is all this?” Yongsun tiptoed towards the edge, staring at a beautiful sight.

Byulyi followed. “The rain, it, uh, deteriorates the clay and soft rock, but the gems and metals are resistant to it, so they’ve just been uncovered from years and years of rain. Some people say there’s diamonds down there.”

“Some people?” Yongsun asked, eyes fixated on the pit of glimmering shine below.

“Travelers like me. Couriers. Whatever.” Byulyi said thoughtfully.

She watched the amazement on Yongsun’s face. It made her heart all wonky and her chest kind of tight. She hadn’t seen anybody amazed by things like this in so long. It felt like she was seeing it for the first time all over again.

Byulyi pulled the camera strap over her head and walked forward. She placed a hand on Yongsun’s back so she didn’t startle her when she put the camera against her palm.

After they shared a look, Yongsun gently took the camera, putting it up to her eye and staring through it.

“How do I know it’ll look right?” Yongsun asked.

A question Byulyi never thought about having an answer to.

“Uh …” Her hands had a mind of their own, slipping around Yongsun’s sides so she could prop her chin on the girl’s shoulder. “Dunno. You’ll just know it.”

She heard the shutter snap, and Yongsun was taken aback by the noise. It made Byulyi giggle and her breath must have been hot and sudden because it raised goosebumps on Yongsun’s neck. The girl’s finger rubbed over the smoothed out button on top of the camera. It felt strange to see it in somebody else’s hands.

“How old is this?” Yongsun asked softly.

“Dunno,” Byulyi said again. “I pieced it together from an older camera and different parts. I’ve had it years though. It’s like … my favorite thing.”

“Not your bike?” Yongsun played a coy smile on her lips.

Byulyi laughed, looping arms around Yongsun’s stomach and squeezing while she snapped another photo. “Nah. I make the bike look cool, but the camera captures everything I’ve ever thought looked cool.”

“How poetic,” Yongsun mused. “And here I thought you were some hipster posing asshole.”

“No, I am an asshole,” Byulyi reassured her. “But I do care about things from time to time.”

Yongsun clicked one more photo before she put the camera down and stared out at the glistening field a mile below them. She leaned back into Byulyi and her body felt a bit chilled from the air outside, but the pocket of air between them dissipated into heat.

Yongsun whispered something softly. “Maybe this place isn’t as awful as they said.”

And once more, Byulyi, like most idiot lesbians hugging a pretty girl from behind would, smiled.

* * *

Arriving at the Mootel was like coming home, complete with being instantly questioned the minute she walked through the door.

"Who's your friend?" Hyejin asked, lipstick red hot on her lips as she wiped off the bar of her tiny, yet dependably existent inn.

Byulyi smiled, tugging Yongsun along towards the bar. "Nice to see you too, Hyejin."

"Welcome back ..." Hyejin reached behind the bar and pulled two crystal thick glasses out from under the bar top. "Anything to drink?"

 

"The usual." Byulyi slipped into a bar stool and waved Yongsun along behind her. "How's Wheein?"

The bar was a bit on the bustling side, but not overly inhabited. There were the usual drunken men singing in the corner. Some ladies busily chatting about outpost gossip. A slew of faceless and nameless travelers clinking glasses and chatting. It was small, but it was homey. It was Byulyi's safe place if she ever had one.

"Probably drunkenly telling all my secrets to anybody who will listen in this bar." Hyejin chuckled as she went about mixing this and that.

Byulyi liked dark liquor,but she liked it fruity too. An odd double standard that Hyejin never ceased to make fun of when she got the chance. It did, however, leave her to ponder up more drink combinations for whenever the next time Byulyi crashed into the little abode.

The bartender looked up at Yongsun. "And you, cutie?"

"Oh," Yongsun seemed a bit flustered by Hyejin's sudden charm. Which was, of course, to be expected. Hyejin is quite well known for flirtatious behavior. How else do you get people trashed that ought not to be getting trashed mid-journey besides a devilish grin and well-placed makeup.

"Ignore her." Byulyi nudged Yongsun in the side. "She's practically married, don't let her fool you."

"M-married?" Yongsun stuttered on the word.

It was a bit strange considering how much of fight she'd put up every step of this way for her to be as affected by Hyejin's smirking and winking as she was. Maybe that was just how powerful the innkeeper truly was.

Unfortunately, what Byulyi didn't know what how little it had to do with Hyejin and how much it had to do with the words being thrown around so suddenly.

"If you want to call her my wife, you can. She's perfect, I'll take it." Hyejin shrugged, pushing the drink over to her friend.

Byulyi rolled her eyes, but took the drink and enjoyed a sip. "You two are grossly all over each other and been living together for years. That's what we call being married nowadays."

 

"Is she, uhm," Yongsun still seemed disheveled. "Around here?"

"Somewhere." Hyejin switched eye contact back to the foreigner here. She leaned forward on the counter and propped herself up in a lean. "I'm more interested in you though, sweetheart. What can I get you to drink?"

Another eye roll from Byulyi, sipping her drink as she watched Yongsun blush a little bit. Are people not this forward in the settlements? Byulyi's never been to the underground ones, but she can't imagine they're all too conservative.

"I don't ... I don't really drink often." Yongsun admitted.

"Really now." Hyejin brought her lips together in a purse as she looked her over, contemplating things for a moment. "Give me a moment."

She spun around to look at the wall of liquors and brews, leaving the two companions to have a moment to themselves.

"Honestly," Byulyi said quickly, but quietly. "Don't think anything of her. She's a good friend, she just likes to play."

"She seems ... fun." Yongsun let out a breath, laughing to herself. "Byul, where are we?"

Oh, how to answer that question in particular.

“This is called Mootel. It’s probably the trashiest Inn at this outpost, but …” Byulyi grinned to herself. “Gun to my head, if I had to call one place home …”

Yongsun nodded. “Mhm. Mhm. And we’re how far from where we need to be exactly?”

“Depends where you need to be, baby girl,” Hyejin answered for her, slapping a coaster down on the bartop and pressing a pink-filled glass towards Yongsun. “Try this on for size.”

Yongsun seemed hesitant, but Hyejin quirked an eyebrow and, as with most times Hyejin quirks an eyebrow, she quickly folded and took the drink for a sip.

“She’s trying to get to a settlement,” Byulyi explained, watching Yongsun’s eyes widen when the cocktail hit her tongue.

“Yeah?” Hyejin asked, her lean over the bar resuming as she propped her cheek in her hand.

“Oh.” Yongsun put the glass down and looked at Hyejin. “Uh. This is really good. It doesn’t even taste like …”

Hyejin’s smirk grew. “Dangerous, right? There’s enough liquor in there for a horse. Few of those and you’ll be out like a light.”

“Are you trying to poison her?” Byulyi pushed her empty glass forward and leaned back in her stool. “We have places to be tomorrow.”

“She’s not driving, I’m sure.” Hyejin curled her hand around and pressed the back of it against the cheek facing Byulyi to whisper to Yongsun. “She’s a bit attached to her bike.”

“And camera.” Yongsun smiled.

“Oh, don’t get me started.” Hyejin rolled her eyes.

Byulyi felt an eye roll incoming as well. “I can hear all of this.”

The other two girls laughed a little, their flittering giggles took the alcohol to Byulyi’s veins and she felt suddenly looser, more willing to speak her mind. Not that there was often much on her mind she held back, but a free flow of thought usually followed a few drinks in Byulyi.

Reasonably, most people believe silence to be an uncomfortable experience. This is why white noise from TVs, radios, music, and useless conversation is so popular in lieu of absolute silence. Byulyi, however, often found silence to be comfortable from time to time. Much like the way a nice armchair provides comfort. Silence surrounds with softness. Especially in noisy environments.

Yongsun took to drinking her fruity cup of sin, enjoying it thoroughly as Hyejin went about making a second drink for Byulyi. There was a lot of noise. Drunk singing, conversation, clinking, clattering, rustling, but there was no conversation.

Comfortable silence.

It wasn’t broken until Hyejin returned with a second drink and sultry wink. “How’s the road been, Byul?”

This one tasted a bit stronger, left a bit of a sting on Byulyi’s lips, but she was thankful for it at this point. “Fine. Only got rained out once, so …”

“And your little photo assignment?” Hyejin’s voice was soft enough that only Byulyi could hear it.

She nodded and shrugged, leaving a hot-button topic at that. Hyejin never pushed for details about what Byulyi did. As with almost everything, Hyejin let Byulyi come to her. Tell her things. Whatever she felt she had to share. And seeing as Hyejin’s lips are as tight as her dress, there was never a single worry in Byulyi’s mind about it.

“Hyejinnie~” A voice broke out suddenly.

Like thunder lagging behind lightning, Wheein appeared moments later, latching onto Hyejin’s side and startling the bartender enough to get her reaching out for the slick surface of the bar top for leverage. They bobbled like that, Byulyi’s heart bubbling a touch at Wheein’s gratuitous smile and Hyejin’s wide-eyed surprise until they rattled back into a stable position.

“Ah, yes, I figured you’d been gone too long.” Hyejin sighed, wrapping an arm around Wheein and pulling her even closer. “Byulyi’s here, darling.”

Wheein’s formerly shut eyes popped back open, her smile flashing out to a grin as she saw Byulyi across the bar. She nearly jumped with joy. “Thank _god_ \- you’ve been gone so long! How was it? How is it? Anything exciting?”

It was hard not to shake her head and laugh. The orange glow of fake lighting painted Wheein like a caricature of herself. Just a little too hyper for her own good. She was such an intelligent and calculated woman that got absolutely giddy the minute she started to unwind. It wasn’t just Byulyi who appreciated the woman. The look of fake annoyance on Hyejin’s face as quickly melted into a fond smile as she looked at Wheein. There was nothing quite as heartwarming as _that_ look.

Byulyi’s stomach felt tighter. “Nothing much. Picked up a straggler.”

She pitched a pointed thumb to her side and at Yongsun who was sliding an entirely empty glass forwards at the moment. Wheein’s eyes snapped to the cute stranger and lit up like a buzzer.

“Oh my god, Byulyi, she’s gorgeous.” Wheein detached herself from Hyejin and pressed two elbows on the bar, pushing herself forward and up off the ground a bit so she was leaned over the bar.

Hyejin let out a sigh and reached out to keep her steady. “Careful, Wheein.”

“Hi, Wheein.” She offered Yongsun a hand.

Yongsun looked a bit stunned but took the hand. “Yongsun.”

It was almost comical how long Wheein shook Yongsun’s hand for. “It’s nice to meet you. You really are the prettiest girl Byulyi’s ever brought here. Are you from around here? Is that your real hair color?”

“Wheein, come on.” Hyejin tugged Wheein back to the ground, ending her overly-enthusiastic handshake in the process. “I’m sure Yongsun doesn’t need an eighteen part survey tonight.”

Yongsun smiled and waved off the accusation. “It’s fine. I’m, uh, I’m from an underground settlement. I was going to another settlement when the transport crashed and Byulyi found me.”

“Ohhh …” Wheein got a look of awe and nodded. “It’s a good thing Byulyi came by then.”

Yongsun snorted. “Good thing is a bit of an overstatement.”

“Hey, now.” Byulyi raised a hand off her glass to defend herself. “If it weren’t for me then you’d be a puddle of goop right now.”

“Doesn’t sound _all_ that bad.” Yongsun shrugged.

Byulyi, being a bit dense from time to time, had failed to pick up on the fact that Yongsun highly enjoyed getting her worked up. Which was, admittedly, a bit sad, considering almost anybody would have picked up on the fact that Yongsun enjoyed this activity so much based on the grin that she fought back every time Byulyi raised her voice.

Hyejin, on the other hand, had not missed this fact in the slightest. In fact, just beyond Byulyi’s recognition, she leaned down and whispered something about it in Wheein’s ear, getting an instant squeak and giggle of agreement from her dearly beloved.

“Hey, hey,” Hyejin waved a hand in their airspace, breaking out the little back and forth of insults the two had struck up while she was making notes to Wheein. “No fighting at the bar, girls. I’ll get you some refills before I start to shut things down.”

“Is it really that late?” Wheein asked.

Hyejin made a hum and went about her business.

“We’ll have to go to bed soon …” Yongsun said softly. “We’re going tomorrow, right?”

She looked to Byulyi.

“I suppose.” She shrugged. “I have a couple of things to do first, so it all depends on the rain. And where we’re going.”

Wheein nodded, posing a question to Yongsun. “Where are you trying to get to?”

 

Yongsun frowned, touching the necklace on her chest in idle thought. “I’m not … sure.”

“You don’t know?” Wheein scrunched up her brow.

To save face here, Byulyi jumped in. “We’re halfway between The Coast and Wind Flower or whatever they’re calling it nowadays. Either of those?”

Something fleeting passed over Yongsun’s features. “Wind Flower?”

“Yeah …” Byulyi kicked back in the stool again, crossing her legs and letting her eyes wander Yongsun’s forearm for whatever reason. “It’s like half underground, half above ground. It’s had like eight names, but you can only actually go into a little part of it if you don’t live there.”

Whatever it was, it jogged Yongsun’s memory or filled in a blank somewhere that her head had managed to space out on.

“Oh -” She said. “That’s it. I mean … that has to be it. It was at least partially underground.”

“Are you sure?” Wheein asked, a tint of concern present.

Yongsun nodded. “100%.”

Two sets of eyes landed on Byulyi.

She swallowed, the motion of Hyejin pressing two new drinks at them catching her attention for a split second. She picked it up, pressed the glass to her lips and spoke against it. “Guess that’s where we’re going then.”

Hyejin’s fingers found the belt pressing Wheein’s dress into her waist and tugged it until she was leaned back against her.

“You can stay in the spare room, like usual,” Hyejin said, propping her chin on Wheein’s shoulder. “Just keep it down this time, lady killer.”

Byulyi choked on her drink at the comment and Hyejin’s wink did nothing but spur on the sudden blush across Yongsun’s cheekbones. She desperately tried to hide it behind her pink drink, but it was too little too late.

“Thanks a lot,” Byulyi glared.

Wheein, doing her best to pretend she had any sort of innocence in the situation, nodded. “Of course. You’re always welcome to stay here.”

The high-and-mighty on Hyejin’s face stayed. “Bottoms up, ladies. Bar closes soon.”

* * *

“She didn’t realize there was a misspelling on the sign until after everybody had started to call it - Hey, careful.”

Byulyi caught Yongsun by the arm as she stumbled on the stairs.

“Am I really that drunk?” Yongsun muttered, gaining her footing on the creaky wooden floorboards.

“The stairs are uneven …” Byulyi chuckled, watching her take the last few steps up to the topmost level of the shaky building. She made it onto the landing steadily and walked forward towards a hallway that ended in one door and had another on the left.

Byulyi stepped past her towards the door on the left and opened it, gesturing inside. “And that’s how the Mootel got its name.”

Yongsun laughed, finding it a little amusing as she walked past Byulyi into the room.

This room, though not sentient at all, had a personality. It was a place Byulyi stayed so often. And was probably the only person that ever used it. It was next to the little apartment that Hyejin and Wheein occupied, but it had all the little things somebody would need.

So a bed and a desk.

Byulyi tossed her bag somewhere and shrugged her jacket off. It wasn’t very hot, actually, it was quite cold since it had started raining earlier in the evening. But the liquor warmed her up. Kept her cheeks flushed and her head light and the world vibrating at a low frequency she only let herself hear when she was too tired to ignore it.

Neither of them commented on sharing a bed. They’d done it the night before. It was no secret they enjoyed each other’s body heat. Or something like that. They actually didn’t speak at all besides giggling when Yongsun almost knocked over the lamp trying to turn it off.

“You’re clumsy,” Byulyi said, lifting the thick covers on the bed for Yongsun as she approached. “Have you always been that way?”

“Yeah.” Yongsun slipped into the covers, the moonlight from the far window illuminating her smile momentarily. “But I hurt myself more than anything.”

“Cute,” Byulyi said without thinking.

“Not really,” Yongsun responded, sliding closer to Byulyi.

Sure, she wasn’t _drunk_ , but she’d certainly unlocked her inhibitions from earlier, cuddling right up to Byulyi like they had the night before, but facing one another instead of spooning. Byulyi let the covers fall over them and the cold seemed to stay out, their breath and body heat warming the air trapped around them quickly.

But Yongsun, like the night before, seemed to shiver still.

This time, however, Yongsun drew Byulyi in, pressing their chests together and sliding a leg between Byulyi’s.

Which was fine at first. Until she shifted again and pressed her thigh right up against Byulyi.

Byulyi tried her best to ignore it, enjoying the sudden warmth that feeling Yongsun pressed against her suddenly brought in. It had been a while since she’d been around that particular block, so she’ll just chalk it up to that and move on.

Not that she’d admit that of course.

“Do you ever feel anxious for no reason?” Yongsun whispered, doubt evident in the cracks of her voice.

“I think that’s the definition of anxiety,” Byulyi responded, a tiny smile playing at her lips.

She felt Yongsun’s leg shift slightly and it spurred the whirlwind in her mind. Maybe if she hadn’t had a few drinks, then it might not have mattered. But she did have a few drinks and she could definitely feel herself reacting a way she ought not to.

“Maybe …” Yongsun shifted more.

She was trying to get comfortable, definitely unaware of how turned on Byulyi was by a stupid harmless action. So she slid her thigh forward, putting their hips nearly in contact.

“You should, uh, relax?” Byulyi said without thinking, unable to swallow her reaction. “Ah, Yongsun.”

“Sorry,” Yongsun said.

But her fingers ran up Byulyi’s arm, sending goosebumps across her skin like a boat’s wake. It was kind of, somewhat, a direct contradiction to her apology. And kind of, somewhat, made everything worse. When her fingers got to Byulyi’s bicep they curled in, around, and went back down to trace more lines.

“Just …” Byulyi whispered.

“Just what?” Yongsun asked, her voice tired and rocky. “You okay?”

It was impossible to tell what was behind those words. Yongsun sounded so sleepy and unaware while all Byulyi could think about was her thigh between her legs in that moment. What an entirely useless lesbian thing to do. Really?

Yongsun shifted again, her thigh pressing up into Byulyi now, leaving a desire for friction heavy in her mind.

“Ah - uh, I’m fine just -” Byulyi reached down and pressed a palm against the top of Yongsun’s thigh, pushing it away. “If you do that …”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but she felt like Yongsun was breathing right against her face.

“Oh,” Yongsun said softly. “It’s okay. You can.”

Byulyi let out a little laugh in confusion. “I - what?”

The fingers on Byulyi’s arm slid down to her wrist and took her by the hand. Whether it was poor judgment or not, Byulyi relented, letting Yongsun link their fingers together and pull it away from her leg. Once there was nothing stopping her, Yongsun pressed her thigh up into Byulyi again, forcing her to bite her lip and wonder if this was her own personal hell.

“Like that?” Yongsun asked, even though it barely felt like a question.

She felt Yongsun’s nose against her nose and knew this had morphed into something else entirely.

“Yeah, that’s …” Byulyi nervously chuckled again. “That’s something alright.”

“You’re tripping on your words, Byulyi,” Yongsun stated, breathing the same little space of air Byulyi had to herself. “How can I help?”

“Help? Uh ...” Byulyi paused when she felt Yongsun press up into her again. “Shit. Did you do this on purpose?”

“No,” Yongsun breathed and it was so close to her mouth. Her hand let go of Byulyi and took her by the hip. “But I won’t take it back.”

She nudged Byulyi up with her hand, encouraging her to move the way she’d been telling her hips exactly _not_ to move. It sent a wave of feeling up her spine and out her mouth in a little gasp.

“No, that’s uh,” Byulyi knew Yongsun’s lips were hairs away from her own. “That’s the definition of taking it forwards I think.”

Yongsun chuckled a little bit and holyshit it was the hottest thing Byulyi had ever heard in her life. It rattled her like loose parts and she felt her eyes shut of their own volition.

She gave in to Yongsun’s tugs and rocked against her leg. That spark came back and ignited for just a moment until it filled to a slower burning sensation. It almost felt like nothing for a moment, but Yongsun’s breath against her cheeks brought back a flush in every part of her body.

Maybe it had been a while, if Byulyi was being honest.

She had half a mind to think about her clothes, but Yongsun’s fingers sneaking under her shirt cut those thoughts off rather quickly. They skimmed the surface of her skin and it raised goosebumps on Byulyi’s abdomen in place of the thoughts. It was everything she really didn’t need right now.

“Yongsun …” Byulyi found herself hesitating, the shift in her hips slowing.

The woman in question paused. She leaned in a tiny tiny bit. Her lips were practically on Byulyi’s and she could feel her heartbeat in her throat.

“Should I … stop?” Yongsun paused, eyes meeting Byulyi’s when she opened them halfway.

She started to retract her hand out from under Byulyi’s shirt, but the hesitancy from earlier seemed to burn up all at the loss of contact.

So Byulyi grabbed her wrist and pushed Yongsun’s palm back up against her stomach. She shoved it up until her hand was over one cup of her bra and then let it go, using that hand to tangle it up in the other girl’s hair. It was a fraction of a second from there to their lips coming together. It was no ceremonial first kiss, but it sparked the fire again.

Byulyi rocked her hips again then, feeling Yongsun dig her fingers into the fabric of her leggings. It felt good. Really good. She let a little noise out into Yongsun’s mouth and it left them parted for a split second. Byulyi took the moment to push her hand up into Yongsun’s shirt as well. She searched around for only a moment until she found the front facing clasp of her bra and let it loose. The straps pull the cups away and back, Byulyi’s deft hands wasting no moment in new territory now.

“Byul -” Yongsun whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

“Shh-” Byulyi hushed her between lip presses. “Can’t - Can’t be too loud.”

Yongsun whined when Byulyi thumbed over her nipple, unconsciously flexing her thigh and making Byulyi stutter as well.

It was a lot at once actually. And that slow driving grind on Yongsun’s thigh was quickly becoming a DUI level offense. If it weren’t for the hand keeping her hips from snapping back and forth, she’d have hit something sweeter already.

And apparently, the only thing keeping Yongsun quiet was Byulyi’s tongue in her mouth. Because at one point she left the kiss to suck marks onto Yongsun’s neck.

Which, for whatever reason, seemed to give Yongsun a bit of trouble containing herself.

“God, Byul …” Yongsun bit her lip, a strangled whimper following.

“Fuck.” Byul let out a little laugh, her hips stuttering as she panted against Yongsun’s neck. “Quiet, quiet.”

The hand formerly in Yongsun’s hair came back around, tracing out her jaw and skipping a few times like stones on water until they were at her lips. She pressed the middle three against them, desperate to keep kissing the girl’s neck without pissing off their neighbors.

She caught the rhythm again, groaning into Yongsun’s pulse as she felt the inevitable flash take her with a white hot grip.

“I, ah, I need …” Byulyi stuttered, a little embarrassed by how she sounded.

Her hips bucked forward, grinding down on Yongsun’s leg one last time as she came, choking on her own words. The hand under Byulyi’s shirt had slid around to her back, leaving no air between them. It felt really good to have Yongsun pressed up against her as she came down. It took one last crash through her body and left her with a weightlessness as she breathed into her newfound lover’s neck.

After a moment, Byul’s fingers loosened up from the death grip they’d found on Yongsun’s shirt. In turn, Yongsun loosened up as well, her fingers skimming down Byulyi’s back instead.

“That was …” Yongsun breathed, laughing a little on the exhale. “Really hot.”

“Yeah?” Byulyi picked her head up away from Yongsun’s neck and pressed her nose to the girl’s jaw. Her eyes stayed shut as she let her lips tease a hair away from her skin. “It’s because I stopped talking, isn’t it?”

“Definitely,” Yongsun answered, tilting her head up as Byulyi started to kiss and nip.

“Mmm …” Byulyi’s insecurity from earlier melted in the after-wash of the orgasm. She thumbed at Yongsun’s nipple again and smirked at the noise it got in response.

“You’re annoying,” Yongsun groaned, her nails digging ever so slightly into Byulyi’s back. “We should sleep.”

“As if.” Byulyi snorted, keeping her voice low still. “Reciprocity is key at the Mootel.”

“Byul …” Yongsun warned, heavy with tiredness.

“ _Yong_ …” Byulyi mimicked, kissing down her neck again, but this time with a destination.

She pushed on Yongsun until she rolled over onto her back and slid down her body, admittedly giggling a bit as she pushed at her shirt to kiss whatever skin she could get to. Her victim fought back, tugging at her shirt and laughing.

“Come on!” Yongsun playful hit at Byulyi’s head, knocking her off course.

“Quiet - quiet.” Byulyi sent a devilish grin back up before slipping a finger into the band of Yongsun’s leggings.

“Really - it’s -” Yongsun’s fit of laughter stumbled and caught when she felt Byulyi’s lips on the inside of her hip. “Ah, Byul.”

“Shhhh …” Byulyi murmured into her skin.

There wasn’t much for Yongsun to do but bite at the knuckle of her thumb, grunting into her palm as Byulyi rolled her leggings off and made her legs into gelatin.

* * *

It took Yongsun an outrageous amount of time to get ready for running errands, so Byulyi found herself half-asleep at the bar waiting for Hyejin to make good on her promise of breakfast.

“How’s this?” Hyejin dropped a plate of eggs in front of Byulyi and the smell instantly perked her up.

Byulyi gave a little look of wonder before nabbing the fork off the bartop and scooping up some of the fluffy, yellow wonderland. The minute it hit her tongue, she felt better. There was nothing wrong with prepacked meals and granola bars but the way fresh home-cooking tasted warmed her right up to her bones.

“I owe you my life,” Byulyi said, shoveling more eggs into her mouth.

“You definitely do.” Hyejin leaned on the counter, her sleep-mussed hair falling to the side. “Especially after keeping me up last night.”

With a forkful of eggs in her mouth, Byulyi paused. She chewed and carefully swallowed, maintaining eye contact with Hyejin and her single raised eyebrow as she did.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about ...” Byulyi pressed her lips into a pout.

“Oh, so the rhythmic thumping against my wall last night _wasn’t_ your headboard?” Hyejin smiled knowingly.

It felt a lot like she was sizing Byulyi up, but it wasn’t the first time. Hyejin always knew everything and if she didn’t then she would certainly find out.

“I hate you,” Byulyi sighed, taking another bite of eggs.

“You love me,” Hyejin said, taking a lock of her messy hair and spinning it on her finger. “Now dish, ghost rider. How’d you woo the queen of the underground?”

The fork clinked against the plate as Byulyi dropped it, letting it slide into place where a mound of eggs once sat.

Again, she sighed, “There was no wooing. She was not wooed. There was a severe lack of woo.”

Hyejin raised her eyebrows. “Well, now I’m _really_ interested.”

Byulyi thought she should get better friends.

“It was an accident,” Byulyi looked away.

“That sort of stuff doesn’t happen by accident.” Hyejin let out a rocky laugh. “Don’t beat around it, babygirl, you know I’ll find out.”

“Ah, leave her alone, Hyejin.” Wheein’s voice appeared suddenly to save Byulyi.

She finished her descent of the stairs trailed by Yongsun just a few steps behind. As she strode around the bar to where Hyejin was standing, Byulyi caught a full view of her companion as she reached the bottom.

Her hair was done up, dark and parted further over to frame her face, tastefully painted with a little bit of make-up she must have borrowed from Wheein. It made her eyes sparkle against the lights of the bar and brought out the pop of color in her lips. Her eyes kept going south, Byulyi couldn’t help but travel the length of her neck where Byulyi could still see light marks she put there. It met the curved v of her shirt. Loose fitting and perfect on her just like her jeans and socks and shoes and geez everything was Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

“Take a picture.” Yongsun laid a hand on Byulyi’s shoulder. “It’ll last longer.”

Byulyi cleared her throat, eyes trailing back up to a red spot on her neck. “Later maybe.”

And when Yongsun smiled in response, Byulyi felt it in her stomach.

“I thought you were coming up to take a shower.” The pout in Wheein’s voice lured Byulyi’s attention away.

Hyejin rolled her eyes, but her smile was evident. “I was just on my way, darling.”

“Are you sure? Sounds like you were grilling poor Byulyi about her sex life instead of worrying about your own.” Wheein had a coyness about her as she looped an arm around Hyejin’s neck.

“Ah, well ... if you run the water, I’ll be right up.” Hyejin pointed her nose down, but got no response. “Promise.”

Wheein seemed to accept it, stealing a quick kiss before fleeing the scene in a hurry. It left only Hyejin to give Byulyi a look that said: “don’t”.

Byulyi ignored this look completely and said, “Weird. I have a feeling it wasn’t me that kept you up last night.”

The sentence perplexed Yongsun, but Hyejin slinked away before she could ask about it. She threw Byulyi two fingers to say _I’m watching you_ as she headed up the stairs and to what the two travelers below could only assume to be a very long shower.

“You sure have some interesting friends,” Yongsun shook her head.

“Yeah,” Byulyi spared a glance up at the other woman again. She swallowed at the sight. “Ah, so … ready to run some errands?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

* * *

A day of errands started off well.

Like, _really_ well, as far as Byulyi was concerned.  
There wasn’t much that changed. They continued to bicker as Byulyi went about getting things like food and gas. Except Yongsun seemed a bit touchier. It was probably a moderate amount of touchiness for most people, but compared to her unwillingness to interact like that before … it seemed really touchy.

She grabbed Byulyi’s hand when she got excited and squeezed it. That made Byulyi’s heart skip a beat. You know, despite the fact that she made fun of Yongsun for doing it. She idly picked at Byulyi’s jacket as the day went on. Leaned against her back as she started to feel tired of Byulyi looking through parts at seller’s table.

“It’s so different here,” Yongsun murmured, leaning her head on Byulyi’s shoulder. “You’re so weird for liking it.”

“You’re weird.” Byulyi smiled, biting her lip.

“Mmm,” Yongsun hummed, picking her head up and looking around. “Maybe.”

But as the day went on, Byulyi got swept up arguing with vendors (politely) and trying to find a specific gasket for her bike she’d been meaning to replace. Wind Flower wasn’t necessarily close, and she wasn’t taking chances on any small failures this trip. And the tarps covering everything seemed to flutter with an anxious wind, and it took Yongsun’s touchy-feely happiness with it.

“Are we leaving today?” She asked at one point, arms crossed and eyes steeled.

“Yeah, yeah, I just …” Byulyi looked up and met her eyes.

Yongsun wasn’t in a good mood.

Byulyi sat back against the cold wall of the little alley they’d stop to eat lunch in. Hyejin had sent them off with sandwiches meant for the road, but finding this part and meeting with her contact had taken longer than she anticipated, so Byulyi figured they should eat to avoid a melt.

Perhaps too little too late.

“It’ll be dark soon.” Yongsun huffed, looking out into the main area where people mulled about their daily business at the outpost.

“I know that. I’m not an idiot.” Byulyi felt something twitch above her eye. “I don’t get why you’re in such a rush.”

“I have places to be. They’re probably worried about where I went.” Yongsun responded sharply.

“Who?” Byulyi responded, just as sharp. “I feel like I don’t know the first thing about you.”

“This.” Yongsun huffed. “This guy.”

“Guy?” Byulyi felt weird. “Like a dude?”

“Yes,” Yongsun rolled her eyes, bringing her stare back to Byulyi. “A dude. A man. I’m supposed to.”

She cut herself off abruptly. She shifted her eyes away and something fell in Byulyi’s stomach. A breeze whisked her bangs and it took all her body heat with it. Like her blood froze.

“Supposed to what, Yong?” Her dry mouth asked.

“I’m supposed to …” She bit her lip. “I’m engaged to marry him. It’s an alliance between the colonies. He’s affluent in Wind Flower.”

Byulyi herself froze. Everything felt really, really wrong all of a sudden. Yongsun wasn’t looking her in the eye, and maybe it was stupid but all Byulyi could think about was the way she kissed her last night and -

“So was this all …?” Byulyi wasn’t even thinking before she spoke. 

“No,” Yongsun stopped herself, some part of her composure snapping. “Seriously? You dragged me around looking at pieces of bikes and you’re worried I’m using you?”

“Whoa.” Byulyi pushed off the wall and put her hands up. “I’m helping _you_ , princess. You’re the one that was stranded in the wastes and I showed up to help knowing jack shit about you.”

Yongsun snorted. “Yeah, sure. You’re the fucking savior of this story. You’re the knight in shining armor and I’m some useless damsel in distress.” She narrowed her eyes. “All you do is think in poetics. Do you even see reality?”

 

“Are you serious?” Byulyi let out a laugh like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re saying I’m the one in the clouds like you aren’t living based off the brainwashing they do underground?”

“You don’t anything about how I grew up!” Yongsun shouted. “You don’t know the first thing about us.” She snatched Byulyi’s camera up from where she’d set it down. “You take pictures of dead trees and holes in the earth. You’re so self-absorbed that you never asked me anything. That’s why you don’t know.”

 

“I don’t know - you don’t know what the pictures are. What I do.” Byulyi was fuming. She couldn’t put her words in the right order. “I know you’re some caged rich kid, but stop being so stuck up.”

Yongsun twisted at the thought. Physically spun her body and kicked at the sandy-dirt of the ground below them.

“Stop that.” Byulyi pointed. “Don’t fuck with the camera. You’re clumsy.”

“Oh, this fucking camera.” Yongsun’s voice was pitched.

“Yeah, the fucking camera. I know you’re throwing a tantrum because you aren’t getting what you want, but that’s important.” Byulyi felt dangerously close to shouting.

“I’m not asking anything ins-” Yongsun pulled the camera up. “Fine. I don’t need any of this.”

“Fine.” Byulyi snapped. “Give me the camera.”

“Take the fucking thing.” Yongsun tossed it forward.

It all happened so fast. Byulyi didn’t even see it happening.

The camera hit her chest and she scrambled to grab it, her arms reacting so slowly. She didn’t even touch it.

Just heard it hit the ground.

She didn’t look at it. Her eyes went dead and she stared at Yongsun as the girl’s face wiped from anger to shock. It felt like the camera shattering into pieces was reflected in Yongsun’s eyes back at Byulyi. The other girl looked down as it as the pieces audibly scattered, then back up at Byulyi, words on her tongue that Byulyi _did not_ want to hear.

“Byul - God.” She stammered. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

Then Byulyi looked down.

And it was pieces. Actual fucking pieces of her camera. The lens seemed intact but the body was barely together to begin with and one screw in particular had been loose and … pieces.

“Byulyi.” Yongsun reached forward for her.

Byulyi smacked her hand away, dropping to her knees and snatching the parts up out of the dirt. So many little pieces. God, how was she going to fix all of this?

Yongsun squatted down, reaching out for the lens, but Byulyi pushed her back suddenly.

“Stop, haven’t you fucked this up enough?” She met Yongsun’s eyes and gave her no mercy despite the deer in the headlights look on Yongsun’s face.

“I just wanted to -”

“Leave, right?” Byulyi gave her no room to breathe in the conversation. “Then go. Leave. I’m done.”

“Byul, I …” Yongsun might have said more, but Byulyi tuned it out. 

She went back to snatching all the little parts of her camera up off the ground. She pulled her bag over from where it was sitting against the wall and started to throw the pieces in there, eyes scanned the dingy area for parts. And she vaguely heard Yongsun say something, but all that mattered was that she walked away.

And when she was totally sure the girl had left, Byulyi collapsed back against the wall.

She felt like crying.

* * *

“It’s not okay!” Byulyi put her head in her hands. “I slept with a married woman.”

Hyejin scoffed, clearing off the bar, but adding no further comment until Wheein gave her a look and did the job for her.

“Technically she wasn’t married.” Wheein offered. “Just engaged.”

“That’s worse …” Byulyi groaned.

“No it’s - it’s not worse.” Wheein looked to Hyejin for support, crooking an incredibly awkward smile.

“Yeah.” Hyejin shrugged. “You could be saving her money on an expensive wedding.”

Byulyi looked up, red-faced and sponging up her own flustered emotions. “What?”

“Trust us.” Hyejin laid a hand on her arm. “Wheein’s an expert on gay and I’m an expert on sex. Our prognosis is dependable.”

“I just …” Byulyi looked back down at the bar top.

It glinted back at her with the shine of a new lacquer. It reflected her puffy red eyes and askew collar. Her hair had been pushed back so many times that it was every which direction and somehow seeing it all in the dull reversal of a wooden surface made everything ten times harder to swallow.

“God.” She put her head down again, sniffling into her arms and feeling tears welling up again.

She got attached, she slept with a married woman, she let her in so fast and when she broke that camera, it broke something else too. Byulyi won’t say it was her heart. That just sounds bad. Sounds weak. Sounds like snot in her nose and tears on her waterline.

She felt Wheein’s hand on her back and she just let it out. Let herself cry for the first time in a long time.

“She’s right.” Byulyi sobbed. “What do I do? Play both sides. Sell pictures of people when they think nobody’s looking. Now I can’t even do that. I should just -”

“Moon Byulyi.” Hyejin’s voice rang out.

Byulyi sniffed, clenching her teeth to stop the vomit of words she wanted to spew.

Wheein’s fingers were slow and soft on her back, pressing the material of her shirt against her skin and rubbing easy circles between her shoulder blades. It was calming when Byulyi let it. It took her down from her spin and Hyejin’s voice pulled her out.

“Look at me.” Hyejin said, clear and crisp and demanding.

 

Byulyi did. She picked her head up and saw Hyejin’s steel expression not far from her. 

She spoke slowly, but with a grip on Byulyi, she couldn’t shake. “You are not going to let some pretty girl ruin your life, okay? I know you’re a melodramatic artist or whatever the fuck, but this is not the end of the world.”

“It’ll be fine …” Wheein hummed.

“Nod.” Hyejin requested.

Byulyi nodded.

“Good.” Hyejin stood back from the bar, keeping Byulyi’s attention. “Now tell me how you can get this camera fixed.”

It took three seconds, but Byulyi calculated the query and put herself back together. She picked herself back up fully, Wheein’s hand stilling, but staying flush on her back.

Careful not to sniffle too much, Byulyi said, “There’s a guy in Red Moon. He’s gotten me camera parts before. It’s my best shot at putting this back together.”

“Oh, that’s perfect.” Wheein rubbed up and down again before sliding her arm and grabbing Byulyi by the shoulder. “Do you want me to go with you? I can leave the place to Hyejin for one day. She probably won’t burn it down.”

“Not accidentally, that’s for sure.” Hyejin shrugged, picking up a glass to wipe off in true bartender style.

Byulyi couldn’t help but laugh. “No, no. I can get there on my own. It’ll be good to just ride by myself anyways.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” Wheein patted her once more. “You’re going to feel way better by the next time I see you.”

And Byulyi would. Just for very different reasons.

* * *

The sky was somehow empathetic that day.

Not that it was capable of feelings or emotions or anything silly like that. It wasn’t placing itself in Byulyi’s shoes and sympathizing with her as a person. No, it was merely kinder that day. It was clear for miles, not a single cloud dragging trails across its’ blue-gray expanse. Not even benign, white ones. 

It was certainly a coincidence that it chose to take pity on Byulyi this less than fantastic day, but then again … you could never be too sure with the sky.

“Thanks,” Byulyi said to herself (something she’d been doing a bit less the past few days, but seemed to be picking up on again)

The sky didn’t reply.

However, a response came.

Not to Byulyi, just a response in general.

A loud bang rang out from the trees to her right, causing Byulyi’s skin to tighten and adrenaline to spike. Her immediate response was to swerve, moving into the woods on the other side of the long trail and out of sight. Her tires jittered over suddenly unworn soil and she curved around to a stop as soon as she was away from the tree line.

A spray of dirt kicked up when her tires spun in the dirt, but she didn’t waste time worrying about it. She just caught her breath and stared at the road.

Slowly, a larger vehicle crawled out of the woods on the opposite side, it’s grimy headlights casting shadows full of leaves on the ground as it turned onto the road.

Byulyi squinted against the light, just barely catching the spray-painted logo on the side of the boxy car. A gold streak and a white lion, red dots for eyes.

For just a second, it didn’t mean anything.

Then it suddenly meant everything.

She kicked the stand back up and revved her bike. It took mere seconds for her to spin back out onto the road and get back into a viewable distance of the convoy. She kept her speed low, her engine quiet, and distance far, but kept those lights in her view until she saw it pull off into a clearing just beyond the treeline.

Very slowly, she came to a stop behind the trees, leaving her bike in some thicker overgrowth and making her way closer on foot. She kept inside the forestation but could start to hear sounds and after a little longer, saw the car and some figures.

She squatted beside a thicker tree, the landscape just barely concealing her.

And though she’d really hoped it wouldn’t have been, she knew exactly what was going to happen. She only bit her lip and let out a little groan when she saw two vague, yet menacing figures escorting Yongsun away from the car. They were apparently unaffected by the tongue lashing they were receiving from her.

Which should be surprising, considering they had guns and musculature far outside of Yongsun’s ability to fight back against. But obviously, that didn’t matter.

Byulyi couldn’t hear exactly what she was saying, but she knew she was livid based on the tone.

They disappeared into a cliffside, where two sloped rocks created a deep crevice and Byulyi set back on her haunches to think.

It was almost night.

She was very tired.

She looked up at the sky.

“Fuck.” She grunted. “I guess I’ll save the day or whatever.”

Or whatever.

* * *

“Shut up.” The vague, yet menacing man said gruffly.

He pushed Byulyi by the arms. The ones he had managed to duct tape together by the wrists while two other men held her thrashing body to the ground, complaining every time she landed a hit on their bodies.

“Mmhmph.” came Byulyi’s response, muffled by the duct tape he had stuck across her mouth when the two men holding her down complained that her insults landed a hit on their egos.

He rolled his eyes, accepting that she was going to continue to make muffled noises until he was out of earshot. However, they were approaching what Byulyi assumed to be her destination. He shoved a key in and unlocked a door, throwing it open.

Byulyi made eye contact with Yongsun the second it was open, seeing her eyes widen at the sight of a very disheveled and restrained Byulyi standing at the doorway. She was then unceremoniously shoved into the room where she lost balance and collapsed onto the floor, coughing into the tape across her mouth and rolling onto her back.

It hurt a little bit, from the fall and the tussle earlier, but she really _really_ wanted to glare at the man as he slammed the door shut on them, leaving them in the dimly lit boarding room.

“Byul -” Yongsun hopped off the bench she had been sitting on and kneeled down beside her. “What the actual fuck?”

“Mmrmrmphmrm-” Byulyi explained.

“God, shut up.” Yongsun slid a hand under Byulyi’s head and lifted it up, taking the edge of the duct tape across her mouth between a thumb and finger with the other hand. “Hold on.”

With zero warning, Yongsun tore it off, pulling a yelp out of Byulyi as well as leaving thing red lines where the edge of the duct tape once laid.

“Fuck.” Byulyi lamented.

“Idiot.” Yongsun accused, discarding the duct tape so she could put her hand back on Byulyi’s face. She traced out where the duct tape had been in a non-verbal apology. “What are you even doing here?”

“I was …” Byulyi coughed again as she shifted. “In the area.”

She winked and watched Yongsun roll her eyes.

“You’re insane. Crazy.” Yongsun noticed something. “They duct-taped your hands? Roll over.”

Byulyi didn’t put up a fight. Really, what was the use? She got herself into this situation, may as well deal with the fall out too. She sat up, rocking herself forward, then finding Yongsun’s arms as help halfway until she was sitting up, her bound arms in full view to her companion.

“Byulyi, I swear …” She muttered under her breath. “Were you following me - like - why are you even here?”

Yongsun started pulling at the duct tape and Byulyi winced. “I was going to Wind Flower to fix my camera. Then I saw them dragging you here and …”

“You did something rash and stupid?” Yongsun tore a strip of the duct tape away, starting the ultimate unravel that freed Byulyi’s arms.

“Heroic and -” Byulyi was cut off by Yongsun unceremoniously tearing the end of the duct tape off her arms.

“Yeah?” Yongsun sounded pissed. “Turn around.”

Byulyi pulled her arms forward before scooting around to face Yongsun. She didn’t really want to look her in the eye, suddenly realizing that the girl probably wouldn’t have even been that excited about seeing her had she managed a successful rescue. So instead she looked down at her wrists, red and angry and stinging back at her.

A silence settled over them that was thick and slow like molasses. And despite time being entirely unbothered by sound, it felt to Byulyi as if the silence slowed seconds into whole minutes. Sight and gaze were entirely intangible, but god if Byulyi couldn’t _feel_ Yongsun looking at her.

The sounds of the camera clattering to the ground, skittering pieces across the concrete. Yongsun’s face, red like Byulyi’s wrist. Still echoing yells that meant absolutely nothing.

“Here,” Yongsun said softly.

She reached out and took Byulyi’s wrists gently. Initially, Byulyi’s response was to pull back, but after a frozen second, she offered them forward. So Yongsun took them carefully. She rubbed her thumbs across the lines and sighed. It felt like, for a second, she was going to say something, but instead, she lifted one of her wrists to her lips and kissed it.

Byulyi followed the motion with her eyes, meeting Yongsun’s gaze at last when she pressed her lips to Byulyi’s skin.

She didn’t look as mad as she had sounded.

She actually looked tired and had a cut above her left eyebrow.

She was still so pretty.

Byulyi swallowed. “Uh, I’m …”

“Don’t. Seriously.” Yongsun cut her off. “You’ve been dumb enough today. And if somebody’s going to apologize, it’s going to be me.”

Byulyi blinked. She felt Yongsun lower her arms, setting it in her lap, but keeping a soft and firm grip. Her thumbs resumed a gentle rub on the pained areas, but Byulyi had started to block the sensation from her synapses, letting dumb old emotions to the forefront of her brain instead.

“I walked away,” Byulyi said in a near whisper. “If I had taken you to Wind Flower, these guys never would have gotten you.”

“Shut up.” Yongsun rolled her eyes. “I let some stupid fit get a hold of me and broke the only your camera. You had a right to be upset. I should have, I don’t know. I fucked up, Byulyi.”

“It’s stupid,” Byulyi brushed it off. “It’s just a camera. I can fix it. I’m 25, I should have the emotional capacity to care about more than just one inanimate object.”

Yongsun let out a chuckle. “You do, though.”

“My bike doesn’t count,” Byulyi said.

“No, no.” Yongsun shook her head, smiling. “You care about Hyejin, right?”

“I guess … she’s my oldest friend.” Byulyi admitted.

“And you care about Wheein,” Yongsun added.

Byulyi nodded.

“What about Kyulkyung?”

There was a pause and Byulyi looked away. “Got it. I get it. I’m a big softy. Great. Can we move on?”

“No.” Yongsun tilted her head. “We’re kind of stuck here.”

That was true. The door was locked. Byulyi was out everything she had left with her bike. There wasn’t exactly a best case scenario here.

“Yeah …” Byulyi sat back, pulling her arms away from Yongsun and looking them over. “Well, you’re high priority as far as targets go so. Don’t think they’ll let us just walk out.”

Yongsun paused. “What do you mean by high priority?”

“Well, princess.” Byulyi looked up, taking her turn to give Yongsun a stern look. “These guys have the same markings as the ones at the crash. Coincidence, maybe, but when you consider that they’re pretty well known for ransoming people and that you’re engaged to be married to a guy who’s family practically owns Wind Flower …”

She watched it all click in Yongsun’s head. It can’t be a pleasant feeling to realize you were being hunted to use as ransom.

“Maybe Hyejin’s right and marriage is overrated,” Byulyi said, watching invisible calculations scrolls across Yongsun’s eyes.

“How …” Yongsun trailed off. “Do you know all of this?”

Oh, and there’s that too.

Byulyi leaned forward, letting her arms rest on her shins and her knees rest against Yongsun’s. The dirt on her face looked a little worse up close, and the glorified broom closet’s lighting did them no favors. But perhaps for revelations and reveals, that was the most suitable setting.

“You have to promise not to think less of me,” Byulyi felt suddenly self-conscious.

Yongsun nodded, mouth dry and slightly agape. She reached her pinky forward and Byulyi took it with the tiniest of grins.

“I take pictures of places, right?” Byulyi watched her nod before she let go of her pinky. “But I mostly take pictures of people for a living. I follow them. I travel somewhere because some woman’s husband went there. I take pictures of him cheating on her. I give them to the woman and she gives me money.” She paused, watching Yongsun’s features move in minuscule and indeterminate ways. “Sketchy people approach me in bars. They ask me to take pictures of other people. To determine their daily routines. Where they live and eat. I sell them back and I never know what happens. They go missing sometimes. Sold for ransom. And those seedy men in bars wear patches on their jackets that look just like the ones of that van.”

The tension was palpable. It was a physical thing, draping itself across the open space between them. It was like a lead blanket, barely held up by some weak levitating force. By no means was it suffocating, but every moment Yongsun blinked at her without response it grew heavier and more crushing.

“So.” The tension snapped. “These guys want money from Eric’s family for me.”

“I can’t imagine it would be anything else.” Byulyi shrugged.

She looked at the wall to the left. To the door she had been shoved through and the sturdy wooden barrier between her and the road. She felt a little claustrophobic suddenly, so trapped in an area she can’t leave from. Powerless to change the circumstances.

Noting the silence, she turned back to face Yongsun, biting her lip and looking down at the ground between her legs.

“Yong?” Byulyi piqued her softly.

Yongsun didn’t look up. “I haven’t even met him. I don’t even know what he looks like.”

It didn’t feel like the right time to speak. Byulyi watched her shake her head like she couldn’t believe her circumstances.

“It was just what I always had to do. I’d always been told that settlements were what kept society from shambles and that this … marriage would bridge gaps in - I don’t know. I’ve been struggling to cope with the fact that a lot of what I’ve been told wasn’t true.” Yongsun swallowed.

Byulyi’s heart moved forward. She felt it physically leap at the crack in Yongsun’s voice. God, how stupid. How absolutely hopeless and stupid.

“Can I …” Byulyi reached out.

Yongsun looked up but didn’t say anything. It really didn’t help that she looked near-tears with a puffiness in her eyes. So Byulyi traversed the space between them. She pulled Yongsun in and it was insanely cliche, but it was something they both needed. Which, actually, made it even more cliche.

“I’m sorry,” Yongsun said again, this time into Byulyi’s shoulder.

“Stop that.” Byulyi sighed, curling in and holding Yongsun even tighter. “We’ll figure this out.”

“How?” Yongsun sounded like she was truly about to cry. “We’re trapped.”

Byulyi turned her head. She pressed her nose into Yongsun’s neck as they embraced. Then she smiled. “Never trapped.”

Slowly, Yongsun peeled away, keeping a grip on Byulyi, just not right against her. “There’s a locked door, Byulyi.”

“You know I can pick locks right?” Byulyi quirked a smile.

“Of course you can.” Yongsun sighed. “But with what?”

“I just need two …” Byulyi paused.

Her eyes slid over Yongsun’s jaw and down her throat to where her locket laid against her cleavage. It was a perfectly terrible thing. The piece of metal connecting it to the chain was loose and the rim of the locket was pulling away from itself. It must be old. It was kind of perfect.

“My eyes are up here.” Yongsun said, half joking and half hoping for Byulyi’s attention back.

Byulyi looked up. She spoke softly. “Your locket.”

“I …” Yongsun reached to her chest, fingers taking the locket between them. “Byulyi …”

“I know.” Byulyi leaned back, finally killing the last of their physical connection as she stood up to pace and think. “I’m sorry. It was stupid.”

Yongsun sat there, fingers tightening on her locket. The only thing she ever acted as though she cared about. Much the way Byulyi held and caressed her camera not so long ago. But now, Byulyi was pacing around the tiny room, looking for anything she could repurpose. Normally she had stuff on her, but …

“Here.” Yongsun said suddenly.

When Byulyi looked down, she caught tail end of Yongsun unhooking the chain from her neck. She let it fall into her palm and offered it up to Byulyi. “I don’t really need it anymore.”

Byulyi paused, eyes drifting from the locket to Yongsun’s face. “... Why?”

A beat.

“I don’t see myself going to Wind Flower anymore.”

It felt really important. It felt like the earth shifted, which it did of course, the earth is always shifting, but this time in a way that Byulyi could and really experience. Yongsun’s eyes didn’t hold anything back either.

“You’re kidding.” Byulyi smiled out of confusion. “You went through all this trouble just to -”

“Byulyi, oh my god.” Yongsun huffed.

She stood up suddenly and then took a step forward so she was right in front of Byulyi. Her fingers ghosted over Byulyi’s and just like that, she dropped the locket onto her palm. And then, for whatever reason, leaned in and kissed Byulyi.

It only took a moment for Byulyi to shut her eyes. And then it was over. Yongsun was back and away, watching Byulyi with intent.

“You’re just giving up everything then?” Byulyi asked. She had to make sure.

Yongsun shrugged. “I heard there might be some work waiting for me as a model.”

She was right about that.

And Byulyi was right about being able to pick the lock.

When they scrambled towards the woods afterwards, Yongsun throwing herself on the back and snatching Byulyi’s waist frantically, they felt a little more excited than before. Life and death situations shouldn’t really make them feel that way, but here they were.

And as the wind whipped across their faces and they drove away from quite literally everything, the remnants of the locket fell out of Yongsun’s fingers. Or maybe she let go.

The sky knew, but wouldn’t tell.

* * *

Yongsun let out a shaky breath, practically falling back onto the covers and sighing. She ran a hand through her hair and laughed a little and, god, she looked absolutely gorgeous. All blissed out and relaxed as her chest rose and fell.

The sunlight peered through the window and over Yongsun. It cut slivers of light across her collar bones and painted her neck a new shade of beautiful. Wow.

“You’re preeeeeetty,” Byulyi grinned, pulling out the word to be extra obnoxious.

Yongsun rolled her eyes, and huffed out. “Stop.”

Byulyi hummed to herself, running a finger up Yongsun’s abdomen and between her breasts. She traced one of her collarbones, feeling her breathing slow like the calming of tide.

“It’s true,” Byulyi said, more softly and sincerely.

Yongsun didn’t respond. Her eyes were shut and she was just breathing. With her mouth slightly agape, the tips of her teeth showing below her lips, she just … breathed. It made Byulyi’s chest swell. With pride for obvious reasons, but something else.

Byulyi pulled herself closer to Yongsun, cuddling up next to her and intertwining their haphazardly undressed bodies in the familiar bed. She cupped the other side of Yongsun’s face and kissed her cheek.

“I have something to tell you,” She whispered.

Yongsun smiled before she opened her eyes. “Is that so? Don’t keep me waiting, Byulyi.”

“Course not, princess.” Byulyi grinned again. “It’s just that …”

As if on cue, the door flew open, startling them both to a comical extent. Byulyi snatched the covers and pulled it up to their chins, Yongsun struggling to get a grip on the sheets as well.

With zero care for what they’d interrupted, Wheein burst in dramatically, approaching the bed and throwing a glare at Byulyi. “Forgetting something?”

Byulyi, wide-eyed, terrified, stuttered. “Uh-ah-no?”

“Oof. Wrong answer, babygirl.” Hyejin, who was leaning on the doorframe just beyond Wheein now, responded.

Wheein glanced back, catching Hyejin’s eye before crossing her arms and taking that glare back to Byulyi. “Engagement photos ring a bell?”

Byulyi paused. “Oh … shit. Fuck. Shit.”

“Yeah.” Hyejin nodded. “You fucked up.”

Yongsun looked at Byulyi in confusion. “What?”

“Uh …” Byulyi loosened up, letting the covers down to comfortable place under her armpits. “Hyejin proposed today and I was … supposed to take photos.”

“Byulyi!” Yongsun smacked her under the covers. “Are you stupid?”

“No!” Byulyi paused. “Yes. Listen, you distracted me this morning with all the kissing and stuff.”

“Gross.” Wheein rolled her eyes.

“I better hear how you’re going to make it up to us in thirty seconds, Moon Byulyi.” Hyejin threatened.

“Wedding photos.” Byulyi gulped. “I swear. Tons and tons of wedding photos. You’ll never worry about a Christmas card again. I promise.”

“Good.” Hyejin sighed. “Can you two get dressed? Wheein’s parents are coming and they want to meet her friends.”

“Yes.” Wheein stepped back towards the doorway. “Please look presentable.”

“Yeah,” Hyejin chimed in. “Yongsun’s stunning as is, but we can’t all be that fortunate, Byulyi. So put something nice on.”

Byulyi swallowed her pride and nodded. Hyejin enjoyed that. A nice, easy win for her before she took Wheein by the waist and smiled as they ran off, newly engaged and giddy about it.

“God, that’s so cute,” Yongsun said after the door had been shut behind them. “They’re going to spend their life together.”

“They’ve already done four years.” Byulyi rolled her eyes.

She watched Yongsun sit up and stretch. Even her back was pretty. At least Hyejin was right about how stunning she was. She just left out how lucky Byulyi was.

“It’s still cute.” Yongsun pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

“Whatever you say, princess.” Byulyi’s hand wandered, running up Yongsun’s back, riding the divets of her spine until her hand couldn’t reach any further. She noticed a wave of goosebumps on Yongsun’s back, but she was so comfortable. So okay with Byulyi’s touch.

“What did you want to tell me?” Yongsun asked, turning over her shoulder to look at Byulyi.

“Uh …” Byulyi remembered. Looking into Yongsun’s eyes and letting every soft and gooey feeling she’s ever had rush back into her chest.

“Yeah?” Yongsun smiled coyly. “Cat got your tongue?”

Byulyi scoffed. “No. I’m just in love with you is all.”

“Oh, is that all?” Yongsun tried her hardest to play off how big of a grin that gave her as she spun around.

“Yeah, no big deal.” Byulyi shrugged.

Yongsun climbed over her and leaned in for a kiss. “And if I felt the same way?”

“Mmm.” Byulyi caught her lips. “Well. You’re perfect. I’ll take it.”


End file.
